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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. cold — not warm
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. lean — to bend
  8. field — a subject
  9. game — a match
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. fork — in a road
  13. game — wild animals
  14. field — farmland
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. tube — a container
  18. field — for sport
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. tube — the underground
  21. lean — thin
  22. cold — an illness
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. fan — a supporter

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com